2025 April - Pro Football Rumors

Month: April 2025

Titans Did Not Try To Trade Will Levis During Draft

April 28th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Titans’ plan to draft a quarterback with the first overall pick in the draft raised obvious questions about Will Levis‘ future in Tennesee.

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi shot down a late-March report that the team was looking to move Levis, but trade rumors persisted up until the draft. Levis remained in Tennessee through the weekend, and Borgonzi insisted after the draft that Levis still has “a lot of value.”

“There is going to be competition in every room, and he elevates the competition in that room,” said Borgonzi (via senior team writer Jim Wyatt). No. 1 pick Cam Ward is expected to take over as the Titans’ starting quarterback, but he will have to earn the gig during the preseason. Levis will likely be Ward’s primary competition, as veteran free agent signings Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle have never earned a starting job out of training camp.

Borgonzi said that all four QBs would get an “equal amount of reps” at the beginning of camp with head coach Brian Callahan and his staff making adjustments as they evaluate the position.

“We’re not going to name any starters right now, here in the offseason,” added Borgonzi.

However, it’s hard to imagine that the Titans took Ward without the intention of starting him right away. Of the six quarterbacks taken with the first overall pick in the last decade, only Jared Goff didn’t open his rookie season as a starter. (He took over for Case Keenum after nine games.) If Levis struggled to keep his job against lesser competition last year, there’s little reason to believe that he can fend off Ward this summer.

Commanders Showed Interest In Joey Bosa, DeMarcus Lawrence

April 28th, 2025 at 10:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders’ five-pick haul did not include a defensive end, and the ascendant team may still have work to do at the position between now and Week 1. Big names had been on the team’s radar leading up to the draft.

In addition to pursuing Trey Hendrickson, the Commanders looked into other high-profile options in March. The team showed interest in Joey Bosa and DeMarcus Lawrence, according to ESPN.com’s John Keim. Those rushers respectively signed with the Bills and Seahawks.

Lawrence made sense as an obvious Commanders target, given the longtime Cowboy’s ties to Dan Quinn and DC Joe Whitt. Quinn coached Lawrence for three seasons, and the team agreed to a deal that provided $30MM in additional guarantees (2022) during Quinn’s tenure. Lawrence is coming off a season-ending Lisfranc injury, but he still fetched a nice contract from the Seahawks, who employ ex-Cowboys assistant Aden Durde as DC. Lawrence, who is now healthy, signed a three-year, $32.5MM deal.

Committing to Seattle shortly before Bosa made a surprise Buffalo pledge, Lawrence scored a similar guarantee at signing ($13MM) despite Bosa’s one-year deal. Illustrating the value Bosa still carried following his Chargers release, the Bills gave him a one-year, $12.61MM that came with $12MM at signing. Buffalo will roll the dice on Bosa, who has battled injuries for most of his career, as its top Gregory Rousseau complementary rusher.

It stands to reason the Commanders will reexamine the free agent market for an option. The team lost its top 2024 sacker, Dante Fowler, after he returned to Dallas on a one-year, $6MM contract. That deal illustrates minimal interest from Washington, which devoted more offseason attention to its D-tackle corps than its edge-rushing contingent. The team did re-sign Clelin Ferrell and add potential rotational cogs in Jacob Martin, Deatrich Wise and Jalyn Holmes, but the team may be missing a starter opposite Dorance Armstrong.

Bosa’s Bills agreement points Von Miller to needing to continue his Hall of Fame career outside of Buffalo. Za’Darius Smith came up as a Lions option, and while he may still be in play to return to Detroit (after its draft haul was light at the need area), no known talks have transpired. Matt Judon is also available, as is ex-Washington draftee Preston Smith. The Bengals have not exactly wrapped matters with Hendrickson, either, potentially keeping the door open to a trade.

The Commanders are likely still open to addressing this premium position via trade as well, but ahead of OTAs, the team still looks to need an Armstrong sidekick — or a big-ticket addition that drops him in the pecking order.

Browns Place UFA Tender On Elijah Moore

April 28th, 2025 at 10:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bills hosted Elijah Moore on a visit Monday. Soon after, the Browns became the first team to unholster the UFA tender since the Chiefs and Ravens did so in 2022.

Cleveland brought the seldom-used tender out for Moore, ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports. This will include a potential Moore signing into the Browns’ 2026 compensatory formula. The tender is worth $3.43MM, per Yates. This covers 110% of Moore’s 2024 salary.

Baltimore and Kansas City placed UFA tenders on Justin Houston and Melvin Ingram, respectively. Neither player returned to the team, but the tenders gave the Ravens and Chiefs exclusive negotiating rights had those edge rushers not signed by July 22. That will apply to the Browns with Moore, who could either return to Cleveland at that rate or aim for another team’s offer before July 22.

If Moore signs elsewhere before that date, he will factor into the Browns’ comp-pick haul for 2026. Moore’s path back to Cleveland became somewhat foggy later Monday, when the Browns took a flier on mercurial wideout Diontae Johnson. The Browns had originally acquired Moore in a trade with the Jets, in March 2023, as New York was reshaping its WR room ahead of Aaron Rodgers‘ arrival. Moore worked as a reasonably productive auxiliary target for two largely QB-deficient Browns teams, posting 640- and 538-yard seasons as a slot presence.

The Browns have Jerry Jeudy entrenched as their No. 1 wideout, after his belated 2024 breakout that produced a Pro Bowl nod, and Johnson joins 2023 third-round pick Cedric Tillman Jr. as supporting-cast options. The Browns did not draft a receiver over the weekend, potentially keeping a Moore return in play.

While Houston, Ingram and LeGarrette Blount (2017) represent instances of players hit with UFA tenders before leaving as free agents, players have returned to their previous team on a UFA tender before. Markus Golden did so in 2020, rejoining the Giants after that year’s July deadline came and went. Golden signed the tender a week after the deadline, reporting to camp. The Giants eventually traded Golden back to the Cardinals before that year’s trade deadline.

Giants Considered Trading Up For Shedeur Sanders; Teams Took QB Off Draft Boards?

April 28th, 2025 at 9:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL may never see a fifth-round pick overshadow its draft again, but it certainly happened this past weekend. Shedeur Sanders‘ fall to No. 144 perplexed most, but it came after rumblings of the QB’s stock having tumbled ahead of the selection event.

Countless instances of players with criminal backgrounds becoming early-round picks have been part of the draft’s history, but it appeared as though teams determined Sanders’ skillset was not worth any potential off-field distractions he and his family might provide. As we move away from the draft, more evidence toward that case is emerging.

Before Round 4 began, a report that indicated Sanders not being a first-round pick pertained to a lack of high-level traits while then pointing to the Day 2 snub coming from teams not wanting their backup to bring a “circus” atmosphere. A Monday offering indicated Sanders indeed run into issues during the pre-draft process, particularly with coaches. Quarterback-turned-veteran media presence Boomer Esiason has offered more to this end.

Esiason said during his Boomer and Gio WFAN Sports Radio show (video link) that multiple teams took Sanders off their draft board due to his attitude during interviews. Owners drove these decisions, Esiason added, with perceived Sanders entitlement a central issue here. Deion Sanders having also mentioned potential intervention with regards to steering his son away from certain teams also “didn’t help.”

Shedeur Sanders fell from a player in contention for the No. 1 overall pick, before Cam Ward evaluations separated the Miami product, to someone not expected to drop out of the top 10 to a player not a lock to go in Round 1. Coaches becoming more involved in the process are believed to have affected this, at least it is believed to have impacted the Giants’ approach, and Esiason adds that Sanders’ brash attitude proved off-putting to “many, many” GMs and coaches. Clubs were certainly hesitant on Sanders becoming the face of a franchise, as the three-day fall illustrated.

We heard before Round 2 the Saints were unlikely to choose Sanders, despite carrying QB uncertainty going into the draft. They indeed went another way, taking Tyler Shough at No. 40. The Seahawks (Jalen Milroe) and Browns (Dillon Gabriel) followed suit. It was fairly clear the Browns were not planning to draft Sanders, having made Gabriel their choice in Round 3. But as he fell into the fifth round, a Cleveland team attempting to move past the Deshaun Watson mistake traded up for him. Sanders and Gabriel will vie for the starting job along with Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.

While the Browns were not one of the teams whose owner put a reported kibosh on a Sanders selection, the Giants moved three Day 2 picks to the Texans for Jaxson Dart. They did this after extensive Sanders homework. Big Blue is believed to have done more work on Sanders compared to Dart, but Brian Daboll — who was believed to have been among the coaches who did not see eye-to-eye with the Colorado QB — is believed to have driven a push for the Ole Miss passer. That said, the Giants still considered moving up for Sanders — had Dart been off the board — per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

The Giants were believed to be leery of the Browns for a Dart move, and their trade offers appeared to emerge after the Steelers passed on Dart at No. 21. This brought New York’s long-debated Dart-or-Sanders decision to the forefront, and as Daboll and GM Joe Schoen attempt to make cases to last beyond Year 4 in their respective roles, Dart will be in line to eventually replace Russell Wilson.

As reports of teams being miffed at Shedeur Sanders’ tactics ahead of the draft multiply, the historic slide begins to make a bit more sense. The former Colorado and Jackson State signal-caller potentially overplaying his hand regarding his approach to the interview process will likely come up for many years during draft time. For 2025, he will attempt to prove the league — which includes his own team, which drafted Gabriel 50 spots before him — wrong for its determination on his prospect value.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/25

April 28th, 2025 at 8:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Claimed (from Raiders): CB M.J. Devonshire
Signed: LB Mapalo Mwansa (International Pathway Program)

Green Bay Packers

Signed ERFA tender: LB Zayne Anderson
Waived: DT Leonard Payne

New England Patriots

Waived: OL Jake Andrews, DL Marcus Harris, WR JaQuae Jackson, LB Titus Leo, S Mark Perry, TE Giovanni Ricci

The Raiders’ Tom Telesco-led regime chose Devonshire in last year’s seventh round. After seeing no game action as a rookie, Devonshire will vie for a roster spot with the Panthers. Three seasons remain on Devonshire’s rookie contract.

Ricci saw extensive action for the Panthers from 2021-23, starting four games in that span. He caught eight passes for 100 yards in 2022. The Colts used a sixth-round pick on Leo in 2023; he played in four Pats games last season.

Titans Expected To Decline Treylon Burks’ Fifth-Year Option

April 28th, 2025 at 8:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

The player the Titans tabbed to be their hopeful A.J. Brown replacement, Treylon Burks has not panned out. The 2022 first-round pick has battled injuries regularly and has not made a tremendous impact when available.

It should come as no surprise to see the Titans decline Burks’ fifth-year option. Now two GMs removed from the exec who selected Burks (Jon Robinson), Tennessee is expected to decline Burks’, per football ops president Chad Brinker (via ESPN.com’s Turron Davenport).

No official announcement has been made, but considering Burks’ career path and the cost to exercise this option, no drama exists here. Burks missed most of last season due to injury, and although he is only eligible for the bottom-tier option price at his position, a $15.49MM guarantee will be a non-starter for the Brinker-Mike Borgonzi regime.

The Titans drafted Burks 18th overall, doing so with the Eagles’ No. 18 overall pick. A less-than-thrilled Mike Vrabel, as it seemed at the time, moved forward with Burks along with Robinson. But the Arkansas product has not come close to justifying the selection. As Brown has become a locked-in No. 1 wide receiver in Philadelphia, Burks has totaled just 699 career receiving yards. The big-bodied target has one career touchdown reception, and it came in 2022.

Entering the NFL after two productive Razorbacks seasons, Burks missed time during his first Titans offseason. He then missed six games apiece in each of his first two seasons. Burks, 25, is coming off an ACL tear. The Titans on IR in mid-October, but word on the injury’s severity did not come until December. It was then revealed Burks underwent ACL surgery. Brinker said the fourth-year receiver is still rehabbing.

Robinson’s tenure produced four playoff berths and a number of winning seasons, but it also included first-round misfires. Burks, Caleb Farley (2021) and Isaiah Wilson (2020) factored into the Titans’ decision to can Robinson late in 2022; so did the Brown trade. The Titans fired Ran Carthon after two years, elevating Brinker. Carthon signee Calvin Ridley remains Tennessee’s top receiver, but the team added Tyler Lockett as a complementary piece before the draft. The Titans, who also added Van Jefferson in free agency, then used fourth-round picks on Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike to help round out Cam Ward‘s receiving corps. It remains to be seen if Burks will be part of that cadre.

Seahawks Exercise LT Charles Cross’ Fifth-Year Option

April 28th, 2025 at 8:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks are making a bit of history with their fifth-year option decision. They will exercise Charles Cross‘ 2026 option, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, moving into uncharted territory for a team draft pick.

This is not the first time the Seahawks have exercised a fifth-year option, as they moved Noah Fant‘s rookie contract to five years previously. But Fant was a Broncos draftee; Cross will be the first Seahawk pick to have his option exercised.

Fant and Cross were each part of the Russell Wilson blockbuster three years ago, with the tight end being one of three veterans sent over and Cross being one of the five draft choices sent Seattle’s way in the swap. Cross and Devon Witherspoon were the first-round pick the Seahawks made with the choices obtained in the Wilson trade; Witherspoon’s fifth-year option cost has already risen thanks to his two Pro Bowl nods. Cross has not ascended to that level at his respective position, but the former No. 9 overall pick will still see a nice 2026 guarantee as a result of Monday’s move.

This transaction will lock Cross into a $17.56MM salary guarantee for 2026. Cross having not made a Pro Bowl makes him eligible for the third option tier, which covers players who have established themselves as regular starters. Cross, 24, has started 48 games in three seasons. This includes perfect attendance in 2022 and ’24.

As right tackle Abraham Lucas has dealt with steady injury trouble, Cross has only missed three career games. The reliable left tackle, who had been closely linked to the Giants going into the 2022 draft, has moved onto the Seahawks’ extension radar. The tackle the Giants ultimately took at No. 7 that year, Evan Neal, saw his option declined Saturday night. Cross joined a Seahawks team that had both been missing a cornerstone left tackle for years, since Russell Okung‘s departure, and one that did not have a 2022 first-round pick prior to the Wilson trade (thanks to the Jamal Adams deal).

A team still making option history in 2025 is rather alarming, as the Seahawks had passed on its other first-rounders’ options since the first wave of option calls emerged in 2014. The team declined fifth-year options on James Carpenter, Bruce Irvin, Germain Ifedi, Rashaad Penny, L.J. Collier and Jordyn Brooks. This is a long-running trend, but the Wilson trade helped the team move in the other direction. Fant played out his rookie contract and signed a two-year, $21MM deal in 2024. It will cost far more for the Seahawks to extend Cross.

The lack of a Pro Bowl on Cross’ resume may leave him without a real case to become the NFL’s highest-paid LT, as Tristan Wirfs holds that title (at $28.13MM per year). Cross would stand to see his price rise toward that point, however, with a strong 2025. The Seahawks have no significant O-line commitment on their books, and the cap continues a steady rise. The NFL’s salary ceiling has climbed by a staggering $71MM since Cross came into the league. He profiles as the Seahawks’ top extension candidate right now, though Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be in that mix come 2026.

Packers To Sign LB Isaiah Simmons

April 28th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers are signing former No. 8 overall pick Isaiah Simmons, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Simmons will head to Green Bay after two years in New York.

Not coming especially close to living up to his draft slot, Simmons still maintained his status a role player for the Giants. This comes two weeks after Simmons paid a free agency visit to Green Bay.

After acquiring him in a 2023 trade from the Cardinals, the Giants deployed Simmons in all 34 of their games over the past two seasons. He only started five, but the former Clemson hybrid performer still carries some value heading into a sixth NFL season.

Simmons logged 377 defensive snaps in 2023 but saw that number drop 181 last season. Having experience at safety and in the slot, Simmons will come to Wisconsin as one of the NFL’s most versatile defenders. Of course, the former high-end prospect not being able to establish himself as a dependable starter at any of those spots over the long haul has led to a steep value decline.

The Giants re-signed Simmons on a one-year, $2MM deal in 2024. This marked a sharp reduction for a player who locked in a fully guaranteed $20.66MM as a Steve Keim-era first-round pick. Months after Keim’s Arizona exit, replacement Monti Ossenfort traded Simmons — during a three-trade day for the rebuilding team — for just a 2024 seventh-round pick. The Giants stint did not boost Simmons’ value much, but the Packers will see what he can provide.

Simmons, 26, is the rare linebacker to be given a regular slot role. The Cards stationed him in the slot on 409 plays in 2022. Eighty-six of Simmons’ 181 defensive snaps last season also came in the slot. It will be interesting if the Packers, who slid Keisean Nixon to more of an outside role last season, attempt to tap into this unusual skillset as well.

The Cardinals did not pick up Simmons’ fifth-year option in 2022, though that has become commonplace — as off-ball linebacker options are annually being declined due to a formula that groups on- and off-ball linebackers under one umbrella. But Simmons’ play fell well short of option consideration.

The Packers are likely to decline Quay Walker‘s fifth-year option by Thursday’s deadline, though they are still open to working out an extension — likely at a reduced rate. The team used two draft choices on off-ball LBs last year, adding Edgerrin Cooper in Round 2 and Ty’Ron Hopper in Round 3. Cooper became an every-down player, while Hopper settled in as a backup. Simmons’ steadiest role for the Giants came on special teams, though they had designs on deploying him as a DB. It will be interesting to see how the Packers use Simmons, who will likely be positioned as a depth piece heading into OTAs.

Steelers To Sign Veteran WR Robert Woods

April 28th, 2025 at 5:00pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Steelers are signing wide receiver Robert Woods to a one-year, $2MM deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, adding some veteran depth to the team’s pass-catching corps.

Woods recently celebrated his 33rd birthday and is entering his 13th NFL season. He is an experienced receiver with 145 career starts and 48.1 yards per game in his career. However, he has not been the same player since suffering a torn ACL during the 2021 season. He averaged 4.6 receptions and 56.6 yards per game before the injury and just 2.5 receptions and 25.1 yards per game in three seasons since.

However, Woods’ special teams’ prowess, toughness as a run-blocker, and versatility to play on the outside or in the slot helped him maintain a role in Tennessee in 2022 and Houston in the past two seasons. Those traits likely endeared him to the Steelers, a run-heavy team that has long appreciated tough wideouts who will mix it up as blockers when lined up in the slot. The Steelers re-signed Ben Skowronek, who has a similar profile, to a two-year deal earlier this offseason. Woods will join Skowronek, D.K. Metcalf, George Pickens, Calvin Austin, and Scotty Miller in Pittsburgh’s receiver room this season.

Woods expressed interest in re-signing with the Texans after the 2024 season ended, but Houston opted to sign Christian Kirk, Braxton Berrios, and Justin Watson before using two Day 2 draft picks on Iowa State wideouts Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. That left Woods as one of several veteran wideouts to remain a free agent through the league’s major signing period. Pittsburgh came calling after the draft, albeit for the lowest single-season compensation in Woods’ career.

Saints Sign DE Chris Rumph

April 28th, 2025 at 4:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints have not waited long after the draft to add to their pass rush. Chris Rumph signed with New Orleans on Monday, per a team announcement.

Rumph entered the NFL as a Chargers draftee, and he played out his rookie contract in Los Angeles. The former fourth-rounder played 37 games across his first three seasons in the league, but after being placed on injured reserve during roster cutdowns last summer he missed the 2024 campaign in its entirety. This deal will no doubt come in the form of a one-year flier as a result.

Former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is now the Saints’ defensive coordinator; that familiarity likely played a role in today’s agreement coming together. Rumph occupied a rotational role during his time in Los Angeles, with his snap share ranging from 16-33%. The 26-year-old has managed only three sacks to date, but he has proven to be a key figure on special teams.

The Saints ranked 18th in the NFL with 39 sacks last season. New Orleans still has Cameron Jordan, Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Isaiah Foskey in the fold as holdovers from last season. The team made one addition in the seventh round (Syracuse’s Fadil Diggs) during the draft, but for the most part the returnees will be tasked with handling much of the defensive workload.

Provided he is able to remain healthy in 2025, Rumph could look to carve out a part-time role for himself in New Orleans. Doing so would help his market value for next spring. For now, the Duke product’s attention will turn to locking down a roster spot during training camp.

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